Sisterhood
by Lunar Mist
Summary: The past of the Arcee sisters based off my fic "Through a Cybercat's Optics." Follow Arcee through the beginning of her life, and the start of the war. After all, Arcee wasn't always a Wrecker.


Okay. **Mrs. Knockout** requested I tell my story of the Arcee sisters (Arcee, Flareup, and Chromia) from my point-of-view based off my Cybercat fic. This is not canon. At all. Period. It's cute, yet sad... So, yeah. No flames, please, because I'm just doing this for fun. So enjoy. :)

So you know, This ficlet jumps around a lot. If you don't like that, then you might not wanna read this. It's all in chronological order, it just skips...

If there is a number, there is an explanation at the bottom of the page, at the end of the fic :)

Yes... I named an OC Glitch. ... His creators had a strange sense of humor...

Hmm... Five one-shots turned into two. Still got two more to write, but don't think I'll get them done today...

* * *

Sisterhood

Arcee, Flareup, and Chromia

18,334 words. Longest chapter of my life.

* * *

"Beta. Beta, my love, you have to hold on." The heavy breathing of a femme in labor filled the silence, along with a few pained groans.

"It hurts. It didn't hurt with the other two." A gentle hand ran across her forehelm, distracting her from the pain for only a klik.

"I know. Chromia and Flareup are both waiting for you. You have to hold one so that they can meet you and their new sibling." This was punctuated by a tear leaking down a blue faceplate.

"Promise me you'll take care of them," Beta pleaded. Glitch let out a wordless sob. He could already feel his love slipping away from him, being killed by the large amount of energon that had leaked from her systems during the difficult birth. The medics had tried a transfusion, but it was no good. The extra energon had shocked her systems, and her frame had promptly rejected the new energon. It was an internal battle that the medics already knew she was going to lose. Glitch was called into the medbay and told to keep her calm as the medics tried to save the sparkling, who was trapped in the cables of Beta's sparkling chamber, effectively keeping the energon lines from closing off.

"Please don't leave me," Glitch begged. Beta gave him a tired smile filled with love.

"I will always be with you. Please just take care of my little femmes," Beta requested, and her spark gave out. Glitch cried out in loss and agony as he felt her spark rip from his own. The medics around him moved in a flurry, cutting the cables around that trapped the sparkling, cables that would cause death to the carrier if she were awake, seeing as they led straight to the spark. Glitch ignored them, though as he thought about what had just happened. He was alone. _He_ was _alone._ His sparkmate, his love, all of it, gone. She left him alone in the world. He gave another wordless cry before he, too, joined her in the Matrix, his spark unable to contend with the loss of its other half.

In the waiting room, two femmes suddenly cried out when they felt the two bonds extinguish. Other mechs and femmes in the room immediately moved toward them, ignoring their own pains and worries as they worked to comfort the two femmes that were obviously suffering from broken spark bonds. The youngest of the two, a pre-adult youngling by the name of Flareup, jumped to her pedes and rushed down the hall to where her creators had last been. Chromia, a femme recently placed in her last frame, leapt up to chase after her sister, but she didn't reach her in time.

Flareup wasn't sure what was worse about the room: the moldy smell of stagnant and de-energized energon or the sight of both her creators slumped over, gray in death. Nurses moved around the room, trying to shoo away the two newcomers, but Flareup refused to be moved, staring at her creators as if they would suddenly jump back to life. They didn't, though, and Flareup and Chromia watched with unveiled horror as the nurses lifted thier mech creator onto a mobile berth and covered him with a white sheet before doing the same to thier femme creator.

"Are you Chromia?" a femme's voice filtered through the din. Chromia numbly turned to the femme standing beside her. The red and white femme had a gentle look on her face, and her arms held a clicking bundle wrapped in a pink blanket. Chromia stared at the wriggling mass as it was placed in her arms. "Your creator designated her Arcee just before she offlined," the nurse informed her grimly. "As the next of kin, she goes to you."

"Thank you," Chromia said dimly as she turned away. "Flare, there's nothing more to see here. Let's go."

"'Kay," the orange femme replied quietly. She followed her blue-armored sister silently as she fought back the tears. She had always looked up to Chromia, and she wanted to be just as strong as the other femme was, showing no tears. It was hard for her, though. She had been so close to her creators. Not that Chromia hadn't been. In all honesty, Chromia had probably been closer, and Flareup really didn't understand why Chromia wasn't tearing up like the younger femme was.

"Chrome? What are we gonna do?" Flareup asked. Chromia grunted irritably.

"We're gonna keep going. I'll get a job that can support all of us, and when you're old enough, you can get one, too," Chromia stated.

"And Arcee?" Flareup added almost hesitantly. Chromia's optics moved down to the recharging bundle of wires in her arms. The femlet had gone quiet moments after bonding with her oldest sister. Her frame was still thin and clear, but Chromia knew without a doubt that the youngest femme would likely have their femme creator's coloring. She couldn't hide the twinge of jealousy, but that jealousy was followed by a short burst of pain and guilt. It wasn't Arcee's fault her creators died. If anything, it was the medic's fault for not seeing the problem sooner. Chromia sighed as she moved into the housing community that held their housing unit.

"You will stay home and take care of Arcee for now. If I can get a full-time job… I won't have time."

"Oh." This was said quietly, and Chromia looked back at her sister. Flareup's blue optics were dimmed and swimming in tears. The older femme sighed again as she stopped and pulled her sister into a side hug while holding the youngest in one arm.

"Don't worry. Everything will work out. It has to."

* * *

"Are you crazy!"

The voice rang out over the silence in the housing unit, and Chromia fought back the flinch at the angry expression on Flareup's faceplates. She knew the younger femme wouldn't attack her while holding Arcee, but that didn't change the fact that Flareup was yelling at the top of her vocal processor, something she never did, _especially_ to her old sister.

"Flare, you're blowing this _way_ outta proportion," Chromia said lowly.

"Am I? Chromia, I can't take care of Arcee all by myself!" Flareup snapped.

"Yes, you can! You've been taking care of her for the last vorn!"

"Yes, but at least you came home every lunar cycle to take her off my hands!"

"Flareup, the pay for this new job-"

"Is inconsequential! She's _your _sister, too!"

"Yes, but-"

"No! Just because you wanna go around shooting a gun doesn't mean you get to abandon us!"

"I wouldn't be abandoning you! I could talk to my commanding officer, and maybe he would let you and 'Cee live on base." If anything, Flareup's expression darkened even more at this statement.

"The last thing our _sparkling sister_ needs is to be around a bunch of trigger-happy mechs," Flareup growled.

"Flare, the Autobots are good! They are trying to defend our planet against the terrorists that attacked Praxus!" Chromia snapped, filled with righteous anger at her sister's brush-off of the Autobot cause.

"You know what? If you wanna go get yourself shot and killed, you go right ahead, but don't expect me to condone it, and _don't_ get Arcee involved." With that, Flareup turned on her heel and moved to the back room.

"'Mia?" Arcee squeaked, as Flareup left the room.

"Chromia's leaving for now," Flareup stated primly.

"Oh. Bye-bye, 'Mia!" Arcee called out in her cute little voice.

"Bye, 'Cee," Chromia replied. She gave a heavy sigh before leaving the housing unit in the direction of the Autobot Recruitment Center.

* * *

Arcee twittered happily as she played. Both She and Flareup were seated a few lengths away from each other, facing each other with their legs spread apart as they rolled a ball nearly half Arcee's height back and forth. Arcee rolled the ball easily in Flareup's direction, and she clapped happily when Flareup caught it without a problem. The ball was rolled back in Arcee's direction, and the femlet slapped both hands down on top of it to stop its movement. She squealed joyfully at her success at stopping the ball's progression. She wrapped her arms around the large ball and threw it with all her might. It didn't bounce very high, but bounce it did, and Arcee was proud of this improvement. Not only could she roll a ball, but she could _bounce_ it, too.

"Good job, 'Cee!" Flareup praised, feeling the younger's femme's childish pride through their bond.

""Cee do good!" Arcee cheered. "F'are do good?" Flareup laughed at this and complied with the sparkling's command. The ball bounced heavily, and Arcee squealed with delight when it bounced right over her helm.

"Uh-oh!" she twittered as she watched it bounce into the front hallway. "Cee get," Arcee announced as she rolled onto her hands and knees. Arcee chuckled as she stood and followed the sparkling to the hall. "No fo'ow. 'Cee get!" Arcee said angrily.

"I'm just watching," Flareup defended with a grin. Arcee chirped in warning as she continued her trek to the greeting room. Flareup rolled her optics in amusement as she watched her baby sister search for the red and blue ball. Her gaze riveted to the door, though, when it suddenly swished open. She older femme stepped back in a fighting stance, prepared to attack the intruder, when two femmes, only one of which she knew, walked in.

"Chromia," Flareup said evenly. Her optics flitted to the magenta femme standing beside her, before moving back to her sister.

"Hey, Flare! I got a cycle of leave, so I came to visit," Chromia stated.

"'Cee find!" Arcee suddenly exclaimed. The three femmes all looked down to see a red and blue rolling by. It bounced off the adjacent wall and rolled back into the greeting room, where it originated. They all watched the small pink sparkling as she turned her helm and watched the ball roll past her. She chirped in dismay as she moved to follow it. "'Cee get it!" she announced, though she sounded quite irritated this time.

"She's talking more," Chromia noted. The pink femme standing beside her smiled.

"She's cute," she claimed. Flareup narrowed her optics at the femme.

"And you are…?" The femme looked shocked by Flareup's sharp tone.

"This is my friend, Elita," Chromia introduced, sending a warning look to her younger sister. Elita raised her spark signal in greeting. Flareup didn't. Flareup scoffed angrily and turned away. She crossed the greeting room in three quick strides and effortlessly lifted Arcee into her arms, earning a squeak of alarm as she was lifted up. Flareup retrieved the sparkling's ball and exited the room again. Arcee looked around excitedly from the new height. She gave a delighted squeal when she laid optics on the two femmes standing in the doorway.

"Pink! Pink!" she squealed excitedly. She pointed at the pink femme, _just in case_ Flareup wasn't sure which one she was talking about. "F'are, pink!"

"Yep. She's pink," Flareup confirmed.

"Who?" the sparkling questioned. Flareup sighed as she came to a stop in front of the two femmes.

"That's Chromia and Elita. Do you remember Chromia?" Flareup asked the sparkling in her arms. Arcee turned wide optics on the two femmes, studying them, before turning back to her mother figure and sister.

"Noooo…" she said.

"Chromia is your sister. Chromia's like me," Flareup expounded. Arcee frowned up at the sister that held her, then she looked at Chromia, who looked rather disappointed. In her memories, Arcee could vaguely remember a blue femme cuddling her, but she couldn't completely remember if it was _this_ femme.

"No know…" she reiterated, turning to cuddle into her sister's chassis. Flareup turned angry optics to her sister and her friend.

"Well, there you have it. So, Chromia, tell me, have you had fun being away from us?" Flareup snapped.

"Flare, you know I didn't mean to be gone this long," Chromia said in a disheartened tone. Flareup's engine revved angrily.

"Yeah. Lotta good that does us. Did you even _think_ about us while you were away?"

"Yes, she did. She always spoke of you," Elita broke in with a heavy frown. "She was not allowed contact with others because the Decepticons have been tracking our comms. We did not want to lead them back to you and your sister."

"… Oh…" Flareup looked away, anger still written in her expression.

"F'are? Baw…" Flareup smiled at her little sister, who was patting aforementioned ball.

"Okay, let's go," she replied. She turned on her heel and walked a few steps before looking back at the two visiting femmes. "Come. I will prepare you some energon." Chromia and Elita looked at each other before they followed the orange femme into the living area. Flareup gently placed Arcee on the ground with her red and blue ball. "Don't leave this room," she ordered sternly, making optic contact with the little femlet.

"'Kay!" Arcee chirped. Flareup glanced at the other two femmes. Chromia had just finished offering a seat on the couch to Elita, who dropped onto the couch with the grace of a princess. Flareup felt a bit of jealousy rise in her spark, but she beat it down brutally. There was no need for her to be jealous of this femme. Even if she _was_ as graceful as Elita, it wasn't like there were any mechs that were going to be interested.

"Keep an optic on her. She won't go anywhere, but we're still in the 'everything is fuel' phase," Flareup stated. Arcee watched as her older sister left the room. She gave a low chirp before turning to the two strangers. The blue one called Chromia stared after Flareup for a few kliks before rising to her pedes.

"I'll be right back," she informed the pink femme beside her. Elita smiled and nodded.

"Go speak to her," she prodded. Chromia smiled as she left in the direction of the fuel-preparation room. Arcee clicked loudly at the pink femme, who obligingly turn her attention to the smaller femme.

"P'ay baw?" Arcee offered, holding up her prized ball. The pink femme smiled at the little femme.

"Sounds like fun."

* * *

"Flareup, I—Good Primus, is that all the energon you have left?" Chromia exclaimed, cutting herself off as she saw inside the energon storage room. Flareup gave her a withering look.

"No, I have more stashed in my bedroom for those late lunar cycle snacks," she said sarcastically. Chromia frowned.

"Why didn't you tell me you and 'Cee were running low?" This gained a scoff from Flareup.

"I tried. Multiple times, in fact. None of my comms would go through, and I couldn't afford an extra datapad to send in," Flareup snapped as she mixed high-grade in with mid-grade.

"But I sent half my paycheck every orn I got paid," Chromia claimed with a frown. Flareup gave a humorless laugh.

"Yeah, well, clinic bills are expensive, as are vorn-old sparklings," Flareup stated. Chromia's frown deepened.

"'Clinic bills?' Who got sick?" she asked. Flareup looked away, refusing to meet Chromia's optics.

"Arcee had a glitch and wouldn't keep down energon. Her processor labeled all fuel as foreign substances. So we had to pay for that, had to pay for the research, and after all that, I finally changed medics, and the new medic fixed it during her first appointment. I found out the procedure is pretty standard, something every medic learns about in school."

"Oh, Flare," Chromia groaned, kicking herself as she moved to give her younger sister a hug.

"No!" Flareup snapped, dodging her sister's comfort. "No, you don't get to comfort me. I don't want your pity, and I don't need your charity. I got a job, and my employer allows me to bring Arcee with me, so don't bother sending any apology credits," Flareup snapped as she picked up the two cubes of energon, shoving one into Chromia's hands. "You said I could take of Arcee all by myself? Well, that's just what I'm gonna do. I don't need you. I don't need anyone."

* * *

"F'are, when pink come?" Arcee asked that evening after the two femmes had left. Flareup huffed a little at this question, more than a little jealous of the pink femme. Elita was everything she was not: elegant, feminine, graceful, pretty, well-spoken, witty. If that wasn't bad enough, Arcee was completely taken with the pink femme. It just wasn't fair.

"We'll see. Now let's get you all cleaned up," Flareup replied, ending with a happy tone. Arcee squealed with excitement.

"Baff!"

* * *

**::Uhm, hi… This is Chromia. Well, I guess you already know that. I mean, it's obvious and—Ah, rambling. Uhm… So I know I said I wouldn't bug you, and by the way you didn't answer the comm. link… I kinda think you didn't want me to. Uhm, but I'm here, I mean, calling. I, uh, wanted to check on you two. I heard some stuff about your side of town. Oh! I got promoted! Prime made a separate femme unit. Elita's in charge. Well, it's Elita-One now. She made me her second in command **_**and**_** weapons specialist. I got to meet with Prime himself, and I got to meet the Autobot's weapons specialist. Lemme tell ya, Flare, that mech is gorgeous. Anyways, I was just checking on you… and I'll be coming by soon… Uhm… Bye.::**

* * *

Elita was polishing her armor when her best friend sulked into the room. Chromia's optics were dimmed, and her shoulders were slumped as if they carried the weight of the world. Elita knew that look because it was the same one that Optimus held any time she had to give him a report. The pink femme blushed at that thought of the Autobot leader. He was so… sexy. Tall, refined, and regal. She could remember meeting him as Orion Pax, but she only remembered a tall, awkward mech who stood behind Sentinel Prime, getting smacked anytime a contraction slipped pact his lips. Elita forced herself off that train of thoughts when her friend plopped down on the berth beside her.

"She didn't pick up?" Elita asked gently. Chromia shook her helm before resting said helm in her hands. Elita clicked in sympathy as she placed the polish down and hugged her friend. "She's only angry. She feels that you betrayed her."

"That's just it!" Chromia snapped, rising to her pedes to pace. Elita patiently watched her friend work off the angry energy. "I _did_ betray her! I left her _and_ my sparkling sister when they needed me most. I left her when she was barely an adult!"

"Flareup was completely mature when you left, and you still supported her while you were in training," Elita disagreed. Chromia shook her helm curtly.

"No, she had just moved to her adult frame. She-"

"Was perfectly capable of raising Arcee while you were away."

"She shouldn't have to be! Primus, she's had to play danni while I was away. She's never gotten to experience anything, Elita. I asked around the neighborhood. She has no friends, no suitors, nothing. She spends all her time either working or taking care of Arcee! I have ruined her life!"

"Then let's change that."

"What?" Chromia paused in her pacing to look at her friend. Elita shrugged.

"I know we can find a mech or femme who would be willing to watch Arcee while we take your sister out," Elita said thoughtfully as she rose to her pedes. "In fact, I bet Ratchet would be more than willing."

"She won't let a stranger watch Arcee."

"Then we'll make Ratchet follow us around."

"Elita," Chromia began, only to be unable to continue. Would Flareup go for that?

"C'mon, 'Mia. Let's find a bot to sparkling-sit! And if that doesn't work, we'll threaten Ratchet and force him to do the job!" Elita chirped cheerfully as she trotted to the door, dragging her blue-armored friend behind her.

The rec room was obnoxiously loud, as per usual. Mechs and femmes conversed jovially over cubes of high-grade and mid-grade. Never before had Chromia been hesitant to enter the crush. Normally, it was an adventure of sorts, wading through the mass of bodies, searching out anybody you recognized.

"Elita, I don't think this is smart," Chromia said uneasily, imagining her sister's angry face.

"Nonsense! She will appreciate this, 'Mia. C'mon!" With this said, Elita dragged her friend into the throng. It didn't take her long to locate the unofficial official femme table in the back corner.

"Elita-One! Chromia! What brings you all the way back here this fine joor?" Moonracer asked with a grin. Elita slid into the booth seat, dragging Chromia in beside her and forcing Lancer and Greenlight to squeeze against the wall. The two femmes laughed and slapped at their commander playfully.

"Okay, ladies, we have a problem. Chromia's little sister, Flareup, needs a night out. The one thing we need, though, is a sparklingsitter," Elita announced.

"I accept," a mech's voice announced. A chair was suddenly placed backward against the table, and a grinning silver mech sat down in it, straddling the back so that he faced the six femmes. The femmes all giggled at his antics.

"Jazz, I dunno if you're qualified," Firestar snorted. The mech put a hand to his spark while adopting a horrified expression.

"Now, Firestar, I'm hurt! I'd be great at sparklin'sittin'!"

"And if Arcee starts crying?" Lancer prompted. Jazz grinned.

"Femme, I had two li'l brothuhs. I think I c'n take care a' one li'l femme."

"Then it's set. I'll make sure Prime gives you leave tomorrow. Be at the gate at the last quarter joor next solar cycle."

* * *

Flareup smiled as she gave a low growl while holding the large petro-hound plushie. She was currently playing as the evil monster that was trying to kill the warrioress, who was a small, soft-metal femme doll. Said warrioress was played by Arcee, who made dramatic sparkling sounds to accent the intense battle currently being fought by the two creatures.

"I shall eat you!" Flareup roared in a beast-like voice. Arcee gave a dramatic squeal.

"No! Bad mo'ster! No eat bots! Go in cor-ner!" Arcee exclaimed as she warrioress smacked the petro-hound on the head. Flareup wailed dramatically as she made the petro-hound bounce away, crying about being hit. Arcee giggled at the overacting.

"Oh you think that's funny?" Flareup demanded in a playful voice. "I'll show you funny!" she exclaimed as she pulled the sparkling into her arms. Fingers easily reached sensitive wires and not a klik later, Arcee was squealing and laughing. "I'll teach you to hit my monster-minion!" Flareup roared while she continued her tickle attack.

"'Cee sorry! 'Cee sorry!" Arcee squealed. The sound of the front door opening caused Flareup to pause, though Arcee's giggles didn't cease.

"Flare?" came Chromia's hesitant voice. Flareup sighed heavily in irritation.

"Pink? Pink?" Arcee squeaked, repeating the word as she looked at the door to the hallway.

"In the living area!" Flareup called as she rose to her pedes. Chromia and Elita walked into the living area, leading what appeared to be a small army. Flareup stared for a few kliks before groaning. "If you joined some sort of Autobot sorority, I will disown you," she said flatly. A few chuckles rose, but the sound was overrun by Arcee, who had laid optics on Elita.

"Piiiiiinnnkk!" she squealed, holding her arms out to the femme commander. Elita smiled at the femlet.

"Hello, Arcee," she greeted with a smile. Arcee trilled at the sound of her name.

"Me! Me 'Cee!" she exclaimed. The femmes grinned at the joyful sparkling.

"Flareup, these are a few of my friends," Chromia began. Flareup glanced at the small contingent, then back at her sister.

"Congratulations?" she offered. Chromia gave a small smile.

"We have decided to take you out. You need to have some fun," she claimed. Flareup stared… and stared… and stared. Finally, she narrowed her optics and openly glared at her sister.

"No," she said simply. Exclamations of disappointment and irritation rose from the gathered femmes.

"Now, now, ladies!" a smooth mech's voice rose from the din. Every femme went silent, and Flareup watched with wide optics as a silver mech that was just shorter than she walked around the femmes and came to stand in front of her. His optics were covered by a visor, and despite his height (or lack thereof), Flareup could only think about how gorgeous he was. "Hi. I'm Jazz."

"Flareup."

"Well, Flare, swee'spark, the femmes 'ere wanna 'ave a good time, an' Chromia wanted to include ya," Jazz stated evenly with a smooth smile on his lips.

"Uh-huh. And was she planning on bringing the sparkling along?" Flareup asked sarcastically. If anything, Jazz's smile grew to a grin.

"Nope. Tha's what I'm 'ere for," he replied without missing a beat. Flareup's optics grew brighter before narrowing on Chromia.

"Did you honestly think I would leave Arcee with a mech I didn't know?" she asked.

"Me! Me 'Cee!" Arcee cut in happily, looking at all the new people. She especially liked this new short bot. His voice carried a strange lilt that she had never heard before.

"We know, Arcee," Flareup said with a grin nuzzling her noseplating against her little sister's. Arcee let out a peal of giggles at the contact, garnering grins from every adult in the room.

"You're really good with her," a green femme standing beside Elita claimed.

"Well, I've only raised her. I've kinda had a bit of time to get used to her," Flareup replied with a quirky smile. The femme stepped forward and raised her spark signal in greeting. Flareup hesitantly returned the gesture. She sent Elita a sharp glance when she snorted delicately(1). Flareup hated her for that.

"Sorry," Elita apologized quickly. "It's good for you and Greenlight to become friends."

"Come, Flareup. We'll introduce everybot else on the way. We're going dancing," Chromia stated.

"But Arcee…"

"Arcee will be fine with Jazz. He has younger siblings. Trust us, Flareup," Elita reassured her. Flareup sent the femme commander a peculiar look, and though Elita wasn't sure what the look meant, she knew it wasn't mean in a positive way. Flareup was hesitant in handing Arcee over to Jazz, and once the sparkling was resting in his arms, Flareup crouched down so that she and the sparkling were optic-to-optic.

"Arcee, you will obey Jazz. When he says to refuel, you will refuel. When he says to recharge, you will recharge. Don't make me sad by being bad while I am away," Flareup stated. Arcee gave her older sister an open-mouth smile.

"'Cee be good! F'are happy!" Arcee chirped. Elita gave a single nod, and the femmes automatically started filing out of the room. "Bye-bye, Pink!" Arcee chirped.

"Goodbye, sweetspark," Elita called back with a gentle smile. She didn't miss the grimace on Flareup's face when she spoke. Flareup sent her little sister one more smile.

"Bye, 'Cee," she said. Arcee trilled happily.

"Bye-bye, F'are. 'Cee love!" Just like that, Flareup knew that Elita would never win her sister over. Elita may have Arcee's attention, but Flareup was pretty sure that if she painted herself pink, she would have equal attention. At least that was one thing.

"Now, li'l femme, what should we do now?" Jazz asked. Arcee looked over at the forgotten petro-hound and femme doll, then back at Jazz. She pointed at the abandoned toys.

"'Cee doll. You… who you?" Arcee asked, cocking her helm in confusion. Jazz grinned.

"I'm Jazz," he claimed. Arcee nodded as her little mind processed this new fact and stored it away.

"Jass mo'ster. Mo'ster _bad_," Arcee explained gravely. Jazz nodded.

"Gotcha. Le's get this started," he replied in an equally grave voice.

* * *

Flareup sighed from her spot in her seat. They had gone dancing alright. All the other femmes had, anyways. It had been easy for the other femmes to find mechs that wanted to dance with them. Flareup sighed as she watched Chromia dance with a gorgeous red mech, then her optics moved over to Elita, who was dancing with an equally beautiful gray mech. Yeah, Flareup was certain the Autobot femmes were having fun, but honestly, she didn't understand how the place worked. The crowd was stifling, the lights were glitch-inducing, and if she knew what she was supposed to do, she was certain it would be fun, but she didn't know what to do. All she knew was that when they sat down, one-by-one the Autobot femmes were asked to dance by some gorgeous mech, and Flareup… Flareup hadn't been asked at all. She gave a sigh as she rose from her pedes and walked to the door. She gave the dance floor one last glance, taking in the sight of her sister and her little Autobot cult having the time of their lives, before she left.

The street was empty as she walked down it. The working class was indoors, recharging for the next solar cycle. Flareup's optics, dimmed with sadness and rejection, stayed glued to the ground as she sulked along. She couldn't help but wonder if Chromia had invited her as some sort of joke. Was she getting back at her for slighting her commander during their last visit? Chromia wasn't that cruel, was she? Flareup sighed as she realized that… it didn't matter. The damage was done, and the point made.

Was she really that unattractive, that undesireable? Not a single mech had looked her way. Slag, even when a mech moved to the table and asked generally, "Do any of you fine femmes wanna dance," the mech was sure to pointedly not look her way and avoid optic-contact with her. Flareup vented heavily, trying to remove the ball that seemed to settle in her throat. Her optics teared up as she continued her trek home.

"Now, what's a pretty thing like you doing in this part of town this late into the lunar cycle?" a mech's voice carried over to her. She scoffed. He had said "pretty thing," so he obviously wasn't talking to her. Besides, this was a pretty bad side of town, and talking to strangers probably wasn't wise. The sound of hurried footsteps reached her audio receptors, and a klik later, a handsome red mech was walking backwards in front of her, leaning forward a bit while craning his head back in an attempt to look at her face. Flareup stopped abruptly as she looked at the mech. He was frowning at her. "What's got you all sad?" he asked gently. A single hand reached out to Flareup's face, and she flinched, only to find that the hand was wiping away a coolant tear.

"Nothing to concern yourself about," Flareup said emotionlessly. The mech grunted in disagreement.

"I don't like seeing sad femmes. Femmes and sparklings are supposed to be happy," the mech stated. Flareup shook her helm and fought back a glare.

"I know this is gonna shock you, but life sucks, whether you're a mech or a femme," she said hotly. The mech hummed at this.

"I can't argue with that. What, your mech isn't helping you with your troubles?" the red mech prodded, sounding angry with that fact. Flareup laughed out loud, but the laugh was hollow and pain-filled.

"Mech? I have no mech. I have nothing, except for a baby sister named Arcee," Flareup shot back. The red mech wiped away another tear as it escaped her left optic.

"I had thought that a femme as pretty as you would have had a mech…" he said almost absently.

"Yeah… Well, I don't. I don't have time to meet one," she murmured, optics dimming in sadness. The red mech vented at this and gave her a calculated look.

"Well, how about this: you give me your comm. link identification code, and I'll give you mine, and we'll hang out some time. I have a little brother, too. He's only three vorns old, and he likes playing with other sparklings. It'll give you time to, you know, communicate with somebot who can pronounce words right," the mech offered with a charming grin. Flareup stared at him, debating her decision.

"How do I know you're not lying?" she asked suspiciously. The red mech laughed in amusement.

"Not everybot is a psychotic killer. My twin brother, maybe, but not me," the mech replied good-naturedly. Flareup laughed, thinking he was joking. He smiled when he heard the laugh and somehow felt that he had won some sort of competition.

"Okay. Here's my code," Flareup said before she rattled off the sixteen-digit code. The mech nodded as he processed it and filed it away. He then returned the favor.

"Okay. So I'll comm, and we can set up a playdate, or something. Oh, my name's Sideswipe, by the way," he introduced, raising his energy signature. Flareup smiled.

"I'm Flareup. Thanks," she added as she raised her own spark signal.

"For what? Allowing you to talk to an incredibly handsome mech before recharging so you have somebot to dream about?" he asked with a confident grin. Flareup laughed, and again, Sideswipe felt like he accomplished a great feat.

"No, for cheering me up," she replied. "Well, I'll talk to you later," she said as she moved around the mech.

"Hey! At least, let me walk you home," Sideswipe offered. Flareup smiled gently.

"Don't think I know well enough for you to know where I live," she stated. Sideswipe nodded.

"I can accept that. Then let me walk you out of this part of town. There are a lot bad mechs this side that would love to get their claws on a pretty femme like you," he negotiated. Flareup gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"Thanks for the compliment, but… I'm not-"

"Yeah, you are. C'mon. You can tell me what's got you all sparkbroken as we walk." Flareup sighed as she allowed Sideswipe to drag her along. "So… what's going on?"

"Well…" she trailed off, not completely sure she wanted to tell her woes to this stranger. Sure, he was a sweet stranger, but the best killers and rapists are sweet at first. She gave a heavy sigh. _'What have I got to lose?'_ she thought dismally.

"My sister is the weapons specialist for the new femme unit of the Autobot army… She's been away for the last two vorns, and… well, I think I hate her. I mean, I'm beginning to forgive her, but she won't leave me alone long enough to forgive her. Then she comes barging into my house at the end of the solar cycle with her little group of femme fighters and tells me that we're going dancing. I don't even get a say!" She trailed off again as she fought down her anger and betrayal.

"So you didn't have fun?" he prodded. Flareup sighed as she gave a weak shrug.

"I didn't dance. Nobot asked me. Every femme got asked, 'cept for me. All the other femmes were having fun while I just sat there, wishing somebot would ask me to dance. Even when a mech was generally asking for a femme to dance, he would make optic-contact with every femme but me," she whispered, optics dimming again. Sideswipe pursed his lip components as he thought. He knew the clubs well, along with the unspoken rules. A femme never asked a mech to dance, because it meant they were too desperate. He frowned, rather angry at these Autobot femmes. The Autobots were always preaching about equality, freedom, and protection and all that slag, yet they leave this creature to wallow in rejection and grief.

"Then perhaps _I_ should take you next time. Better yet, bring those femmes again, and I'll meet you there. None of them probably know me, so they'll be amazed when you are the first to be asked to dance." Flareup smiled at that.

"I'd like that," she replied. She came to a stop and turned to face him. "Well, this is where we part ways. You'll comm. me?"

"Yeah, I'll comm. ya. See ya," he said. Flareup smiled.

"Goodbye," she said in farewell. Sideswipe turned and broke into a run. Flareup watched wide-opticed as he jumped into the air. Tires transformed down under his pedes, and Flareup watched in awe as he skated away. He was the only mech she knew that had that transformation ability. Strange. She shook her helm lightly and started in the direction of her house.

The sight that greeted her was adorable to say the least. Jazz was seated on the ground, his back leaning up against the couch. His visor was up, and his optics were dark. Arcee was lying on his chassis just over his spark, a single digit in her mouth. Both were in recharge. Flareup smiled gently as she wondered who fell asleep first. It wasn't uncommon for Flareup to fall asleep on the ground and online with a sparkling femme sprawled out on her chassis, so she wouldn't be surprised if Jazz fell offline first. With practiced hands, Flareup reached for Arcee,

And jumped when a silver claw shot up and grabbed her wrist in a crushing grip. Jazz's optics onlined and slowly focused on the femme before him.

"Oh," he said lethargically as he released her wrist. "S'rreh. Habit," he mumbled. Flareup smiled as she lifted Arcee off Jazz and cuddled her into her own embrace. Arcee didn't even stir at the movement. "Guess she recharges deeply," Jazz added. Flareup smiled and nodded. "So how'd it go?" Flareup's optics dimmed, and she looked away. "Aw, slag. C'm'ere, Flare," he ordered, holding out his arms, but Flareup only took a step back.

"It doesn't matter," she whispered coldly. "Inform my sister that my night was enjoyable."

"Now, I can't do tha'. I can't lie to 'er," Jazz replied softly. Flareup nodded.

"Very well. Thank you for watching my sister. She behave well?" Flareup asked. Jazz grinned and nodded.

"Yep. She acted jus' like the spawn of Primus. Though, I kinda got tired of losin' battles against 'er fighter doll," Jazz replied. Flareup smiled.

"Yeah, she likes being the good guy," she stated. "Well, I thank you for your assistance."

"No prob. Comm. meh if ya ever need another 'sitter," he offered.

"Sure," Flareup replied, though Jazz had a feeling he would never get a comm. from her. He gave a lazy salute before he left the way he came. Flareup stared after him for a few kliks before she sagged in her stance. She held Arcee against her spark gently as she made her way into her room. She hefted herself onto the berth and laid back with Arcee over her spark. She let her optics offline and allowed herself to be swallowed by dreams of Sideswipe and dancing.

* * *

"So she did leave by herself."

"Primus, I'm a terrible sister."

"Chromia, you didn't mean for this to happen."

"But it did…" Flareup's recharge cycle was interrupted by the sound of Chromia and Elita talking beside her berth, and immediately, Flareup had to fight back the anger and rejection.

"You two should carry this conversation on elsewhere," Flareup snapped as she onlined one optics. "Some of us have work next cycle."

"Work? You're working on an off-cycle (2)?" Elita exclaimed in a whisper to keep from waking Arcee. Flareup onlined her other optic so that she could properly glare at the femme commandeer.

"Yes. You see, us normal bots work _every_ solar cycle because we wouldn't be able to afford energon if we didn't," she shot back.

"But I've been-"

"Chromia, your small paycheck is no longer big enough to pay for me and Arcee."

"Where do you work?" Elita demanded. Flareup scowled at the pink femme.

"I don't think that's any of your business. Of course, that never seems to stop you, does it?" Elita's optics widened in surprise at the insult.

"Just what do you mean by that?" Chromia snapped. Flareup transferred her glare to her sister.

"We've never gone dancing, and you would've known better than to invite me. I'm not stupid, Chromia. I know it wasn't your idea," Flareup growled.

"And what makes you think it was Elita's?"

"Simple. She's your commander, and she's your best friend. If any of the other femmes had suggested it, you would've brushed it off, but you wouldn't brush off the suggestions of a femme with so much of your respect," Flareup spat. Elita shuttered her optics in surprise at this deduction. Primus, if she could get rid of the attitude, then Elita would want this femme on her team.

"We wanted to include you in something we enjoyed in the hopes that you would enjoy it as well," Elita claimed. Flareup scoffed.

"And look where that got us. If I wanted to sit around and watch the bots around me have a good time, then I would've just sat on my front porch, and I certainly don't need your little army to rub it in my faceplates."

"We didn't mean for that to happen, and you know it," Elita reasoned.

"That doesn't change the fact that it happened, does it? That doesn't change the fact that you made it quite obvious that no mech wants me, that no mech will ever want me, and-"

"F'are?" a small voice squeaked. Flareup looked down at the little pink femlet in her arms. Blue optics were dimly lit and focused on her faceplates.

"It's okay, sweetspark. Go back offline. Everything is okay," Flareup cooed. There was silence from the other two femmes as Flareup coaxed Arcee back into recharge.

"Why do you hate us so much?" Elita finally asked when Arcee was offline and oblivious again. Flareup was silent as she looked at the pink femme.

"Because I can't be you," she admitted, tears coming to her optics. "I can't be pretty, or sexy, or graceful. I can't be witty or funny. I can't be the femme that all the mechs want. I don't have the time. I don't know how. I don't wanna offline alone, but… I know I will, and I had come to accept that until Chromia decided to come back into my life and flaunt everything that she had that I couldn't have—wouldn't ever have, and I hate you for that." There was silence as the two shocked femmes took in this new information. Flareup looked down at Arcee, coolant leaking freely from her optics. "Was that all? Will you two leave me alone now?" Flareup asked in a small voice. Elita's optics narrowed.

"For this lunar cycle, yes, but we will be back. You say you don't know how to be a femme? Then I suppose we'll just have to teach you," Elita stated in a tone that brooked no argument. Flareup shuttered her optics in shock, but Elita didn't give her a chance to argue. Without waiting for a response, Elita grabbed Chromia's arm and pulled her to the berthroom door. "Pleasant recharge, my ward, and I will be back on my next orn off. Live in anticipation." Flareup wasn't sure whether the last sentence was sincere or sarcastic, and she didn't get the chance to ask. The next klik, Elita and Chromia were gone. Flareup sighed as she laid back on the berth, not completely sure if this new development was a good thing or not.

* * *

"And his name is Red Alert?" Flareup stared at the spazzy sparkling mech as she sat beside the red mech she had met only a few cycles earlier. The red and white groundling sparkling seemed to fit his designation perfectly, and there was no denying how overly cautious the mechling was. Any time Arcee tried to touch him, the little lights on his back would light up, and a high-pitched siren would sound; however, any time Arcee moved away from him, he started calling out to her. Well, if "No, you!" could be considered a summoning.

"Yeah. He has a slight glitch. We're working on getting it repaired, but the medics think it may already be engrained into his systems," Sideswipe explained somberly.

"No! You! You!" Red Alert chirped. Arcee had moved to her toy chest, leaving Red Alert behind. "You! _Yooouuu!"_ Flareup snorted when Red Alert's voice grew whiny.

"Red," Sideswipe called out. Red Alert squeaked at the mention of his name and looked over at his brother excitedly with a wide, open-mouthed smile on his face. "Arcee doesn't need to stand by you all the time."

"You! Mine!" Red Alert exclaimed as he crawled over to Arcee and the toy chest. Sideswipe groaned heavily when Red Alert started pulling on Arcee's ped as she attempted to rise to her feet in order to see into the toy chest.

"What's wrong? What's he trying to do?" Flareup asked the red mech. Sideswipe gave a breathless laugh.

"He wants to check the toy chest real fast to make sure nothing will hurt Arcee," Sideswipe stated. Flareup cocked her helm at that.

"I don't understand."

"Well… Red is a bit… paranoid, and he always checks over things before he lets other bots have them." Flareup looked over at the red and white mech and watched as he peered into the box cautiously. His little lights flicked on as he finished studying the inside of the box, and he plopped down on his skidplate as Arcee rose to her pedes, using the toy box to steady herself. She leaned over and reached in with both hands, easily producing a red and blue ball.

"Baw, Red!" she squeaked as she tossed the ball towards Flareup and Sideswipe. She dropped down to all fours and crawled a few paces away before giving the two adults an expectant look. Flareup rolled the ball to her, and Arcee easily caught the ball. The pink femlet then turned to Red Alert, who was watching her curiously. "Baw!" she repeated, and she rolled the round object toward the little mech. Red Alert… well, spazzed. The horns on his helm sparked harshly, and his lights and sirens flicked on in panic. Sideswipe leapt to his pedes quickly, scooping up his brother without hesitation. Flareup followed suit, lifting up Arcee, who had started crying in fear when Red Alert's horns started sparking.

"Red, calm down!" Sideswipe cooed, though his voice held quite a bit of panic. "You're safe, my mech. Everything's fine," Sideswipe added softly. The little mechling's horns stopped sparking, and he suddenly went offline. Flareup stared with barely concealed horror at the offline sparkling. Sideswipe sighed, a sound that held a mixture of relief and humor. His optics met Flareup's, and he offered her a wry smile.

"So… that's his glitch. After he calms down, he normally drops into recharge. He's fine, though," Sideswipe assured her.

"Primus. And he'll have to live with that?" she asked with a sympathetic frown. Sideswipe nodded grimly.

"Yeah, but he'll learn to overcome it, or he'll adapt to it. If there's one thing to be said about our family unit, it's that we can overcome or adapt," Sideswipe claimed. Flareup smiled at him.

"I have no doubt, especially if your brother holds the same amount of emotional support," Flareup agreed. Sideswipe snorted at that, a noise that held both amusement and irritation.

"Sunny isn't very emotional at all. He's more the strong, silent type," Sideswipe stated.

"You know, I never _did_ meet your brother," Flareup said absently.

"Then I guess we need to change that. I'll introduce you next solar cycle. Come to my housing unit. You'll find us there," Sideswipe suggested, cuddling his brother close. Flareup smiled at him.

"Okay. Next solar cycle."

* * *

"Sunny, it's called manners!"

"Don't call me that, and why should I be nice to her? What has she done for us?"

"Friendship isn't about what someone else can do for you!"

"She wants to be our _friend_? Sideswipe, in case you didn't realize this before, we're gladiators. We don't make friends with people; we kill them."

"Only in the ring, Sunny! Flareup is a really sweet femme, and I'll be slagged before I let you run her off!"

_"Oh!_ So _that's_ why you want me to be nice. You_ like_ her."

"I do _not!_ She's just a nice femme whose sparkling made friends with Red Alert."

"Who is about to drink your high grade."

"Ah! Red, no! That's not yours!"

"Mine!"

"No, that's mine. This is yours."

"Yay!"

"Yeah. Yay. Anyways, would you please be nice?"

"Sideswipe, if she doesn't like me for who I am, why should I be polite? Honestly, I'm not gonna be overly polite every time I see her, so she's eventually gonna find out how… deadly I am."

"Sunstreaker, we both know you aren't always like that."

"But most of the time, I am, and I'm not changing for a femme I don't even know just because she has a sparkling that doesn't mind playing with Red Alert."

"Who's about to eat your paint."

"Red, no!"

"Mine!"

"Slag, no! That paint is high-quality and expensive, and I'm not gonna let you waste it like that!"

"MIIIIINNNNE!"

"No! Le'go!"

"S'ipe! S'ipe, mine!"

"Sideswipe, help me here!"

"And prevent myself from gaining this _valuable_ blackmail? I think not."

"Slagger!"

"Swear! Bad Sunny!"

"Don't chastise me, you little cretin!"

"Mean!"

_"Ah!_ Red!"

And Sideswipe laughed as Sunstreaker worked to wipe the red paint off his faceplate, where Red Alert had just tossed it.

"Well, look on the bright side, his aim is improving."

"You have two kliks to run."

"Come, Red Alert! We must flee!"

"Yay!"

* * *

"Come in," Sideswipe said through the intercom. Flareup internally checked on Arcee, who was snoozing in her hold. The femling was curled up against her spark, clicking quietly in her rest. Finding that she didn't need to hesitate on entering her only friend's housing unit, Flareup boldly opened the door and stepped inside.

Flareup glanced around the small community housing unit (3). It didn't have a greeting room, but instead opened straight up into the living area. There was a single couch against the far wall, and a small toy chest sat against the parallel wall, where a single barred window was situated. In all, it was small and sparsely furnished. The one redeeming quality was the many works of art that filled the small room. Beautiful paintings covered the walls, and amazing sculptures were strategically placed to accent certain paintings. The detail on the works of arts was astounding, and Flareup suddenly felt like she was at an art gallery, rather than a run-down community housing unit.

"Don't touch _anything,"_ a deep voice snapped. Flareup jolted, whirling around to face the owner of the voice. Her spark immediately sped up. He was _beautiful_, and Flareup felt that he fit in with the many works of art perfectly, as if he were a work of art himself. He was tall, with long legs and a thick, strong chest. His helm sported a pair of helm fins, the likes of which she had never seen before. His paint job was black and golden, which made him look like royalty, but his optics completely threw off the look. They were ice blue, like he was on the brink of uncontrollable anger. Flareup found herself taking a step back, even though he was across the room, and she found that she couldn't look away from that dark glare. Luckily, though, rescue came in the form of a jaunty red mech holding a less-than-happy red and white sparkling.

"Hey, Flare!" Sideswipe chirped as he moved to her side.

"Uh, hi, Sides," she replied, slowly turning her gaze from the golden mech to his red counterpart. Sideswipe stopped beside her and grimaced when he saw her startled look. He leveled a glare at the golden mech.

"Slaggit, Sunny! Didn't we _just_ talk about this?" Sideswipe snapped. Sunstreaker's glare seemed to grow even harsher.

"Yeah, and we agreed that I wasn't gonna pretend. She can take me as I am, or she can leave," Sunny replied. "And don't call me that. The name's Sunstreaker, and you better not call me some stupid nickname," he added, turning his glare to Flareup. She shrank back, partially hiding behind Sideswipe.

"Ignore him," Sideswipe ordered blandly.

"Kinda hard. He sorta sticks out," Flareup replied, peeking out at the glowering mech. "If looks could kill…"

"Ironic statement. I guess Sideswipe hasn't spoken to you of our job?" Sunstreaker asked with a dark smile.

"Sunstreaker, don't even—"

"We're gladiators," Sunstreaker interrupted. Flareup shuttered her optics, looking up at Sideswipe. She frowned as she looked back at Sunstreaker.

"So…?" she hedged. Sunstreaker frowned, appearing disappointed that the statement hadn't run her away.

"So we're killers…" Sideswipe said slowly. A frown graced his face when she continued giving him that confused looked. "We kill other bots for the entertainment of a crowd and for credits. Doesn't that bother you?"

"Well, they signed up for it, too. They knew what they were getting into," Flareup said with a shrug. She grimaced when she felt Arcee stir.

"Sighs?" Arcee chirped. "Sighs?"

"Yeah, yeah," Flareup mumbled, turning her back to the mechs as she opened her chest plates. She gently plucked Arcee up by her scruff bar and closed her chest plates as he turned back around. Arcee looked around the room with the intense interest that every sparkling seemed to have, taking in the pretty paintings that held multiple pretty colors. However, she set optics on Sideswipe, and he became the focal point of her world.

"Red!" she squealed happily, reaching for the little mech.

"Mine! You mine!" Red Alert cheered happily as he reached for the femlet. Flareup gave Sideswipe a wry smile.

"At least we know they like each other," she noted. Sideswipe grinned at her.

"Yep. They'll be friends forever," he added happily. Sunstreaker frowned as he watched them interact, suddenly feeling like he didn't belong. He was preparing to leave when a little femme voice called out.

"Hey!" Sunstreaker paused, looking back at the pink femlet, who was staring at him with something akin to awe. He watched as she gave him a wide smile and her cheek plating tinted blue. "You pritty mech," she informed him bashfully. Sunstreaker's optics widened at the innocent statement, then they narrowed.

"Joy. The femling has a crush," he noted dismally. Flareup grinned.

"Don't stress it. She was in love with Sideswipe for about seven solar cycles. It'll pass," she informed him easily.

"I think it's cute," Sideswipe said in a teasing voice.

"You_ would_," Sunstreaker replied.

"Hey you!" Red Alert exclaimed, holding a hand out to Arcee. "P'ay!" he chirped.

"Baw?" she replied.

"P'ay," he confirmed.

"Baw!" Arcee squealed in excitement. Red Alert was placed on the ground, and he immediately started his journey to his toy chest. Flareup gently used her free hand to guide Arcee's face to where she could look into her optics.

"See the metal statues?" Flareup questioned, pointing at the metal sculptures in the room. Arcee nodded energetically. "We don't touch those, okay? No touching."

"'Kay. 'Cee be good," the pink bundle of wires promised. Flareup nodded once before setting the sparkling at her feet. Arcee squeaked happily and moved to Red Alert's side, looking in the toy chest with interest. The mechling's lights flicked on at the proximity, but he didn't say anything and only listened to Arcee's constant chattering.

"They're cute," Sideswipe observed. Flareup grinned.

"Yup. So… where did you get all these paintings? I didn't think you could afford fineries this expensive," she noted, studying a painting of a femme and mech sitting side-by-side in the Helix Gardens, both looking rather bashful. Around them, the sunset had given the gardens a chandelier effect. Lights reflected and rebounded off the mulit-colored crystals, casting the surroundings in different colors. It was beautiful and romantic.

"We didn't buy them," Sideswipe said slowly.

"I painted them," Sunstreaker interjected. Flareup jolted again when the mech's voice came from right behind her. She whirled around, squeaking in fear when she saw Sunstreaker only a few inches away from her. Sunstreaker gave her a withering look. "Primus, I'm not gonna kill you. I only slag mechs in the ring."

"Hey!" Flareup snapped, smacking his chest before thinking about it. "No cussing around Arcee!" Then her processor caught up with her actions when Sunstreaker's optics darkened angrily. "Oh slag," she whispered with a squeak.

"You _scratched_ my _paint_!" Sunstreaker snarled angrily. Flareup shrank back fearfully as she saw Sideswipe move forward to intervene.

"I'm sorry," Flareup whispered.

"Sunny, back off!" Sideswipe snapped.

"F'are?" Arcee chirped, feeling her sister's fear.

"She slaggin' _scratched_ my _paint_! Do you have any _idea_ how expensive this paint job is?" Sunstreaker all but roared. Flareup optics widened before narrowing.

"You're yelling at me because…? Oh! You…you are… oh, you spoiled _sparkling_!" Flareup exclaimed angrily. Sunstreaker's engine roared furiously, but Flareup didn't back down. Instead, she looked him straight in the optics and stated bluntly, "You don't scare me, and I don't have to deal with you, either. Sorry, Sideswipe."

With that said, Flareup deftly moved away from the mech and walked over to Arcee. The little femlet squeaked her displeasure at being taken away from her friend and angrily hit Arcee's chassis when she was pressed securely over the older femme's spark.

"Not now, 'Cee," Flareup said firmly, sending a rebuke over the bond. Arcee squeaked sadly, but quit her tantrum. "Say bye." Arcee sniffed pitifully.

"Bye-bye, Red. Bye-bye, Sighs. Bye-bye, Pritty Mech," Arcee called out.

"Good femme. Come by the house later, Sides. Arcee would love for Red to come over. Maybe he can bring her one of his action figures so that she had a fellow warrior, rather than a bad guy," Flareup said over her shoulder as she exited the room, heading towards the front door. She placed Arcee back in her hold as she paused to allow Sideswipe to catch up to her.

"Flare… I'm sorry. He's not really that bad. You just gotta get to know him," Sideswipe claimed gently, pleading his brother's case. Flareup smiled at him.

"I'm sure he is. The same could be said about my mech creator," she replied easily. "But… I… I don't need this right now, Sides. I got enough stress… So maybe in a few orns, I'll come back over, and we'll try again." She offered him a small smile, which he returned.

"Yeah. See you later." Flareup gave one last smile before leaving the housing unit. Sideswipe watched as the door hissed shut behind her before letting his searing fury flow over the twin bond he held with Sunstreaker.

"Sunstreaker!" he yelled sharply, stomping into the living area, where Sunstreaker was building with blocks on the floor with Red Alert.

"I like her," Sunstreaker said without looking up. "Next time you visit, I'll come along and get to know her."

"You'll… you'd do that?" Sideswipe asked slowly, shocked that his brother would be willing to be nice to another bot. Sunstreaker scowled up at his brother.

"Yes, for three reasons: one, she's tolerable and can appreciate my artwork; two, because she doesn't put up with slag; and three, because your feelings are polluting our bond, so I feel for her just what you do."

"Oh…" Sideswipe mumbled.

"Besides, Red needs a femme's influence, if only for the reason that she'd be more understanding than us."

"So it's all for Red? And I'll have you know I'm very understanding!"

"I doubt Red will come to you with his problems. You'd make fun of him, and I'd just brush him off. Dealing with sparklings is the femme's job."

"Just don't let Flare hear you say that. You paint job will be the least of your worries."

"Heh. We'll see about that."

* * *

**Four solar cycles later**

Flareup watched as Arcee toddled over to her toy chest. Flareup was too tired to play at the moment, but Arcee was more than able to entertain herself. Ever since she had learned how to take those first few steps, she had worked hard to hone her walking skills until the day that she would walk without falling every few steps. She still lost balance after about ten steps, but she was nothing if not persistent.

"F'are! P'ay doll?" Arcee called over. Flareup smiled gently.

"Not right now, sweetspark," Flareup breathed, her systems having to work quite a bit just to get those few words out. Flareup watched as her sister retrieved her red and blue ball from where it rested beside the window. Something outside seemed to catch her attention, and she stared for a few kliks before she suddenly gasped in excitement. Flareup was worried at this because it meant that Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were here early. Again. Frag.

"Flare! Flare! Pink here! Pink here!"

This was said in the most excited of voices, and it was accented by the patters of quick sparkling pedes. Double frag. It was her slaggin' sister. As if her cycle couldn't get any worse. At least Sideswipe and Sunstreaker didn't annoy the slag outta her. Well, Sunstreaker did, but only when he opened his mouth. Flareup attempted to rise to her pedes to follow her sister as she rushed into the hallway, but didn't have the strength. She collapsed back onto the couch with a groan. Arcee, however, had all the energy of the world, and she proved it as she rushed through the hallway, ball still in her grasp. The door opened just as she came into view, but she was not expecting to see the huge red and blue mech walking through. Arcee's helm tilted backwards, attempting to look into the mech's optics as she attempted to slow her steps. Sadly, her coordination was still lacking, and her ped slipped from underneath her. She landed heavily on the ground, her ball going flying back the way she came as her helm hit the floor. She laid there for a klik, surprised at the sudden pain, then she slowly and sedately sat up. She sat in shock for a few kliks before looking up at the small crowd around her. The red and blue mech was in the process of kneeling before her, a black mech stood behind him, Chromia stood beside him, and Elita-One was moving to stand beside the kneeling mech.

"Hello, little one," the red and blue mech greeted gently in a deep, velvet voice. Arcee stared at him for a few kliks, looked over at Elita-One, and decided that there were too many things happening at once. So she let her optics widen cutely, and the next klik, she was bawling.

"Arcee," a femme's voice called weakly from the living area, followed by a heavy _clank_. Elita and Chromia exchanged glances.

"That doesn't sound good," Elita noted, bending down to lift up Arcee.

"Piiiiiiink!" the femlet wailed pitifully.

"You're fine, Arcee," the pink femme cooed, then she followed Chromia into the living area, the two mechs following after her.

"Oh, Primus," Chromia breathed when she laid optics on her sister, who was currently sprawled out on her side on the floor beside the couch. The red and blue mech was the first to move, lifting the weak femme off the ground and back onto the couch. He remained kneeling by her helm, trying to ascertain her problem.

"Flareup, what happened?" he questioned.

"'M fine. Had worse," she mumbled tiredly. Her frighteningly dim optics focused on the mech in front of her. "'Ren't you th' Pr'me?" she slurred.

"Yes. Optimus Prime, at your service," the red mech replied.

"Mm-hm. You with 'Lita 'r 'Mia, cuz I know ya ain't 'ere f'r me," she mumbled. He didn't get a chance to answer as Chromia stormed into the room from the kitchen area with two energon cubes in her hands.

"What is this, Flareup? Your energon store only had _two cubes left!_" Chromia exclaimed, moving to stand behind Optimus. "Prime, try to feed her one of these," she added, not wanting to order her commander to move. She knew he was just as capable as she in a task such as this.

"No," Flareup breathed, turning her face away. "F'r 'Cee. 'M fine."

"You are suffering from energon deprivation. You're starving yourself!" Elita-One exclaimed.

"D'n need. 'Cee needs," Flareup persisted.

"Flareup, when is the last time you refueled?" Optimus questioned. Flareup seemed to drop into a daze, then there was a moment of panic when her optics went dark.

"Flare!" Chromia screamed. Arcee, feeling the panic through the bond, allowed her wailing to grow in volume.

"Get anything Arcee and Flareup may need. We're taking them back to base to see Ratchet," Optimus rumbled. Elita turned to move toward Flareup's berthroom, but the second her back was turned in a way that Flareup was not in Arcee's line of sight, the sparkling went crazy. She screamed, kicked, and bit as she attempted to wriggle out of Elita's grasp.

"Slaggit," she mumbled irritably as she moved to Flareup's side. "Hold her," she ordered shortly before depositing the fussy sparkling in Prime's servos. Optimus's optics widened almost comically as he attempted to calm down the screaming sparkling. He patted her back gently, crooning wordlessly to her, but the sparkling ignored him as she fought to get to her caretaker. The sound of the door opening caught the attention of the three adults in the room, and a second later, a mech's voice floated from the entryway.

"Flare? What's going on? The door was unlocked, and I heard Arcee crying, so I just let myself…" The mech trailed off as he walked into the room. He was a handsome mech by any standard, and Chromia narrowed her optics, immediately wondering why he had simply walked into the house as if he had done it multiple times before. Cradled in the mech's left arm was a red and white mechling, who looked mildly panicked by the many unfamiliar faces. The red mech stepped fully into the room, revealing a similarly built golden mech. The golden mech, if at all possible, was even more gorgeous than the red mech, with polished armor and helm fins that if they were seen in the big city, would likely become the height of fashion.

"Who are you, and what have you done to Flare and 'Cee?" the red mech demanded, handing the sparkling back to the golden mech as he took a step forward. Twin blades made of cybertonium slid from his wrists as he stepped into a defensive pose, prepared to fight for the femme that had become his best friend and her little sister.

"Sighs!" Arcee cried mournfully as she reached out for the warrior. The red mech gave a barely perceptible nod, and he suddenly rushed forward. The black mech immediately moved in front of the prime. One black arm swept in front of him, connecting with the red mech's chestplating and sending the mech flying back into the wall.

"Sighs!" Arcee screamed over the roaring engine of the golden mech, who looking caught between attacking and staying where he was, trying to decide whether to risk Red Alert or not. She wriggled around in the prime's grasp. "Sighs! Pritty Mech! St'ang'r!" she cried.

"We are not strangers, Arcee," Chromia said with a frown.

"What the slag is going on out here!" Elita exclaimed as she reentered the room. She took in the surroundings. Optimus was curling his upper body around Arcee, almost completely hiding her from view, while Chromia was sitting on the couch, leaning over Flareup protectively. The black mech, Ironhide, was in a fighting stance in front of Prime, facing the two new mechs in the room. Oh! Make that three. Elita smiled when she noticed the little mechlet in the golden mech's arm, then she frowned when she saw that the golden mech's other arm was formed with a cybertonium blade. One look at the red mech, who was rising to his pedes, showed that he also held cybertonium blades.

"Stop this right now!" Elita snapped as she stalked forward. "Identify yourselves. Now." Elita ordered, fighting back sparkling protocols that told her to move both the mechling and Arcee from the room while there was fighting taking place.

"Sighs! Sighs, save! St'ang'r!" Arcee cried. The red mech took a step forward, then paused at the Ironhide's glare.

"My designation is Sideswipe, and this is my brother, Sunstreaker," the red mech said lowly. "Now, hand over Arcee before she glitches," he snarled.

"Sigh save!" Arcee screamed, reached for the mech.

"Prime, hand her to Sideswipe," Elita ordered slowly. The blades disappeared into Sideswipe's weapons subspace, and he raced forward to receive the femling. The second Arcee was in his hands, she buried her face in his chassis and continued bawling.

"Shh. It's okay. You're fine. You're safe," Sideswipe crooned.

"You!" the mechling suddenly shouted. Sideswipe glanced back at the mechlet.

"She's fine, Red," he stated.

"You!" the sparkling persisted.

"Red!" Arcee squeaked pitifully in reply.

"You 'kay?" the mechlet questioned.

"'Cee 'kay," she called back. Sideswipe glanced around and caught the curiosity and amusement in the strangers' optics.

"That's my other brother… Red Alert," Sideswipe stated.

"Sighs, want Red," Arcee claimed tearfully. Sunstreaker moved forward without being verbally summoned and handed the mechling over to his brother, taking up a defensive position in front of him afterwards. Arcee immediately turned and snuggled close to the mechling, saying his name over and over again. The light's on Red Alert's back flashed red and blue momentarily before he settled down, figuring Arcee didn't want to hurt him.

"Okay, we gave you our names, so maybe you should repay the gesture," Sunstreaker snarled. The red and blue mech was the one to speak.

"My name is Optimus Prime," he stated. Sunstreaker scoffed.

"Great. We have the reason behind all our problems standing before us. Goodie," he hissed. Optimus looked rather taken aback by that.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, sounding horrified.

"If you had some spinal strut, we wouldn't be in this energon crisis," Sideswipe stated darkly.

"That is not the prime's fault. That is the Senate's fault," Elita stated. "My name is Elita-One, leader of the Autobot femme unit, and this is Ironhide, the prime's bodyguard and Autobot Weapons Specialist."

"Bodyguard, eh? Sounds like an enviable job," Sunstreaker said sarcastically.

"Sighs? Where F'are?" Arcee squeaked, looking up at Sideswipe. The red mech made a low thrumming noise in his engine, working to comfort and relax the femling in his grasp.

"Flareup's fine. Why don't you recharge for now, then you can see her when you online?" Sideswipe bargained. Arcee clicked quietly as she curled up in his arms, and Red Alert made similar tired noises as he curled around her. "Which brings us to our next item of business," Sideswipe snarled. "What did you do to Flareup?"

"Nothing. She did this to herself. She's been starving herself, giving her energon to Arcee," Chromia stated, stepping forward to glare at the red mech. Sideswipe gave her a condescending look.

"And you are…?"

"Chromia. Her sister," she growled. Sideswipe stared for a few kliks, then started snickering, obviously fighting back laughter to keep from waking the sparklings.

"Seriously. Never thought I'd be meeting you this way. You know Flare hates you, right?"

"I plan on changing that," Chromia remarked.

"Yeah, good luck with that."

"Enough chatter. Stop wasting time. Sideswipe, you said you restocked her energon store," Sunstreaker interrupted, glancing back at his brother.

"I did. She should have just run out last lunar cycle," Sideswipe replied.

"You've been supplying her with energon?" Chromia asked with wide optics. Sideswipe gave her an impish smile.

"Of course, we were. She didn't exactly have anyone else to help her, so we stepped in," Sideswipe claimed.

"And how did you come up with the credits to feed five?" Chromia interrogated, knowing that this wasn't exactly a good part of town. She didn't want Flareup getting in with thieves or other such bots.

"I trade things, and Sunny paints," Sideswipe said with a shrug, ignoring his brother when he said, "Don't call me that."

"Yet you have gladiator-grade cybertonium swords," Ironhide snorted. Sideswipe gave him a careless shrug.

"So we dabble in the Gladiator Pits. I fail to see how that is your business," Sideswipe remarked.

"It is our business when it involves my sisters," Chromia snapped. Sideswipe's flippant gaze turned into a dark glare.

"I would never let anybot hurt Flareup, unlike you," he shot back.

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"Why are you here today, Chromia? Hm? And with two mechs. Tell me, are you trying to set her up, or are you completely set on destroying your sister's self-esteem? Well, what self-esteem she still has," he questioned suspiciously.

"We do not have time for this. Flareup is worsening. Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, we are transporting Flareup to the local Autobot clinic, where one of my finest medics will meet us to assist her," Optimus Prime interjected while lifting Flareup into his arms. Sunstreaker's engine growled loudly as the prime rose to his pedes. He was ignored, though, as Optimus looked over at his brother. "Now the question is: Will you allow us to transport Flareup without starting a fight?" There was a brief moment of silence, broken only by the loud revving of Sunstreaker's engine and the quiet clicks of snoozing sparklings.

"Only if we are allowed to follow. I don't trust any of you," Sideswipe spat. Prime nodded graciously.

"Of course. I would not separate you from your friend," Optimus claimed as he moved to stand beside Ironhide. "Then let us leave before she gets any worse."

* * *

"So… what's the damage?"

"Really, Prime, if she leaves, she'll be back soon anyways. She has a virus that's been festering for quite a while. I updated her firewalls, but the virus was already beginning to run its course. I won't be able to destroy it for another orn, which is when it will become serious enough to warrant the correct dosage of nanites needed."

"Why can't you just give her the nanites now?"

"Well, you uncouth imbecile, if I tried to give her the nanites now, they wouldn't recognize the virus for what it was and would simply offline themselves."

"Geez, it was just a question."

Flareup moaned lightly as the voices swirled around her.

"Hey! She's waking up! Flareup?"

"Nnn… Sides?" Flareup moaned, onlining her optics dimly. She was lying on her back, and seven bots were peering down at her, only four of which she recognized.

"What the slag were you thinking, femme! Starving yourself!" Sunstreaker snapped irritably from where he stood between Sideswipe and Elita. Flareup grimaced as she peered at all the faces. Sideswipe was on the left side of her helm, Sunstreaker was beside him, and Elita was beside Sunstreaker. Chromia stood beside her helm on her right side, and unfamiliar black mech stood beside her, and an unfamiliar red and blue mech stood beside him. Standing at the head of the berth was a chartreuse mech.

"Where…am I?" Flareup asked slowly, trying to make her processor work. Was she supposed to know all these mechs? Primus, she hadn't lost any of her memory files, had she?

"You're in a clinic, a very _low-class_ clinic," the chartreuse mech stated in disgust.

"Yeah, well not all of us can afford a _high-class_ clinic like you _Autobots,_" Sunstreaker snapped.

"Sunstreaker…?" Flareup mumbled. "I thought we were fighting… What were we fighting about?" Sunstreaker gave her a deadpan look.

"We were arguing about whether Arcee would look better in pink or if you should let me redo her paintjob," he stated, refreshing her memory. Flareup nodded, trying to remember what her standpoint had been. "You didn't want me to give her an intricate paintjob because it would be too difficult to repair."

"Oh, yeah!" Flareup breathed, then she frowned. "I suppose if you stay close-by, you can repair her paintjob whenever it get's scratched up." There was a klik of silence as both Sideswipe's and Sunstreaker's optics widened in surprise.

"Did she just _agree_ with you?" Sideswipe asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Doc, I think that virus is already affecting her systems," Sunstreaker claimed with a smirk.

"My designation is not _Doc_. It's Ratchet!" the chartreuse mech snapped. Flareup giggled when Sideswipe and Sunstreaker rolled their optics in sync. Unfortunately, that brought attention back to her.

"Flare, what were you thinking?" Chromia snapped. Flareup scowled at her older sister.

"Oh, don't start. You wouldn't have even known if you hadn't chosen to drop a surprise visit," Flareup hissed.

"Hey, you ungrateful—" the black mech began

"Who the slag are you? Why are you in here?" Flareup interrupted. "Slag, why am _I_ in here?"

"Because you offlined from energon deprivation. You almost joined the Well of All Sparks," Sideswipe said evenly. Flareup's optics widened.

"But I only went three cycles without," she argued.

"While you were working full-time and taking care of Arcee. Flare, how did you run out of energon so fast? Why didn't you say anything?" Sideswipe asked, sounding hurt. Flareup frowned, offlining her optics.

"Arcee had another growth spurt, and I didn't say anything because I don't need the help," Flareup stated, onlining her optics at the end of the statement and giving Sideswipe a firm look.

"You do need the help. Flare, you can't do this by yourself!" Sideswipe argued.

"Yes, I can! I am _not_ a charity case!"

"No, but you are a single femme with a sparkling to raise," Sideswipe said firmly. He glanced up at the staring optics before turning his optics back to Flareup.

**::I **_**want**_** to help you:: -Sideswipe**

Flareup sighed, not wanting to continue the argument. After all, where would it get her? She knew that Sideswipe would argue it out until she finally agreed, and Sunstreaker would add in his little snide remarks, then Chromia would add in her two credits, and Elita would _have_ to add her opinion, and it would just be horrible. Flareup sighed at that thought train, wondering if her life wasn't actually better when it was only her and Arcee. Wait.

"Arcee! Where's Arcee!" Flareup suddenly exclaimed, jolting into a sitting position while turning to face Sideswipe. The movement caused something in her left forearm to pull, and she looked down to see that an energon drip had been inserted into her arm.

"She's fine. She's in recharge in my hold. She's safe," Sideswipe assured her.

"And Red?"

"Is in Sunny's hold."

"Don't call me that," Sunstreaker snapped as Flareup settled back down and ignored Ratchet as he cursed up a storm while checking on the drip.

"Flareup… you're moving closer to base, and that's not a suggestion," Chromia announced. Flareup scowled at her older sister.

"You have no right to boss me around," she retorted.

"No, but I can get legal guardianship of Arcee," Chromia threatened. There was utter silence in the room as all attention turned to the blue femme. Chromia scowled when the twins' engines roared in fury. "I'm only doing this because I want what's best for you. I can't take care of you two if I can't get in contact with you."

"Then don't! I'll move closer to Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, and I'll find a better job," Flareup snapped.

"She can even move in with us if it would save her credits," Sideswipe offered, placing a hand on Flareup's helm, a movement that did not go unnoticed by the other occupants of the room.

"This is not up for debate, and just what _are_ your intentions toward my sister?" Chromia bit out, glaring at the offending hand. Sideswipe scowled at her.

"None of your business," he shot back.

"She's my—"

"You just gave her an ultimatum! You just threatened to take away her one reason for living!" Sunstreaker snapped.

"I did not ta…" Chromia trailed off when she looked at her sister's faceplates. She looked broken. Her optics were dim, and tears flowed freely from them. Chromia gently prodded her barely active sibling bond and gasped, reeling back, when she received the harshest feeling of hate before the bond slammed shut. "Flare… Flare, you—"

"Get out," Flareup whispered. Chromia vented heavily.

"Please, Flare," she tried again.

"Get out! Get out, get out, _GET OUT!_ I fraggin' hate you! Get away from me, and never come back! You can have Arcee when I'm _dead_!" Flareup screamed. Chromia's hands flew to her mouth, and she turned and ran out. The big black mech sent Flareup a glare before hurrying out after her.

"Flareup, you have to understand," Elita said gently, moving around the berth to take Chromia's place. "She worries about you."

"Worrying solves nothing. If she wanted this bond… you know what, it doesn't even matter. I'm sorry for wasting your time, Femme Commander Elita-One. It was a pleasure meeting you, despite my initial misgivings. May your life be happy and without strife," Flareup said formally. Elita frowned at this.

"You are not a waste of time, Flareup, but I know you won't listen to me," Elita replied sadly. Flareup gave her a pitying look.

"My father once said that there are three types of bots in the world: the types that are meant for greatness, the types that would learn to be meant for greatness, and the types that would never amount to anything. Elita-One, I believe you are the first. You are an inspiring femme, but the thing is… not all femmes can be like you. However, I can give Arcee that chance. Elita… if this war doesn't grow… it is my request that once Arcee graduates from the Academy you would take her under your tutorship. She deserves a chance to be somebot." Elita stared at me in shock, before her faceplates grew angry.

"Oh, so you think you're gonna get rid of me that easy, huh? Well, let me tell you something. I'm coming over to your housing unit every eighth solar cycle to teach you etiquette, manners, and fighting technique. Then, once you're up to my standards, I'm going to introduce you into my society. I believe you are meant for greatness. It's just finding the right path. Recharge in fear, femme, because I won't go easy on you. Come, Prime. I need to buy something shiny and expensive." Prime groaned at this statement.

"Primus help me," he muttered and grunted when Elita elbowed him in the gut.

"Don't start, mech. See you in three solar cycles, Flareup," Elita called over her shoulder. Flareup simply stared after her in shell-shocked awe.

"Did she just—"

"Yep," Sideswipe confirmed.

"And I just let her…?"

"Yup. That was pretty pathetic," Sunstreaker noted.

"Hey!"

"You can't really argue that, Flare. Sunny has a point."

"Don't _call_ me that!"

"Sunstreaker. Don't you think it'd be easier to just drop the whole don't-call-me-Sunny thing?"

"No, slaggit!"

"Okay, you three, enough!" Ratchet ordered. He fixed his gaze on Flareup as he removed the energon drip. "In about four solar cycles, you'll feel ill. At that time, visit your local medic, and he should know what to do."

"Heh. Funny joke," Sunstreaker sneered.

"Sunstreaker, stop it. Medic Ratchet, how much do I owe you?" Flareup asked. Ratchet looked over at her.

"Nothing."

"You can't honestly tell me that a high-end medic like you is pro bono," Flareup argued.

"I'm an Autobot medic that's just trying to help others," Ratchet disagreed. "Nothing more. Nothing less."

"Well… thanks. C'mon, guys. I gotta get home," Flareup murmured. Sideswipe frowned.

"You can recharge at our housing unit this cycle," Sideswipe stated. Flareup nodded, not wanting to argue. She had argued so much in the last breem. Sideswipe gently helped her to her pedes, and Flareup grunted as she sway dizzily, waiting for her equilibrium center to recalibrate. "C'mon, Flare. Let's get going."

"Thanks, Sides," she murmured as she allowed him to wrap an arm around her waist. He steered her out of the room, Sunstreaker following close behind. "I couldn't ask for better friends."

* * *

"Are you sure about this?"

"We don't have much of a choice."

Flareup sighed as she sat in the twins' living area, a large subspace unit (5) at her pedes with a medium sized one (6) beside it. The large one held everything that had once been in her housing unit, except for furniture. Polish, holocubes, family trinkets, jewelry, anything that had belonged to her, her parents, or her older sister were held in the larger subspace unit. Her younger sister's belongings were all held in the medium sized subspace unit. Arcee had had quite a bit of fun packing all her toys, dolls, and energon-mixing equipment(7). The energon crisis had grown. At least, for lower-class bots like her, it had. Inflation was at its worst, and Flareup had been kicked out of her housing unit, no longer able to make payments on the housing unit while feeding herself and her sister. Now, she was sitting on the couch while Arcee toddled around the room with Red Alert crawling behind her.

"I know, Sides, but you two have lives. I can go to the homeless unit," Flareup said hesitantly.

"Stop second guessing us, femme. If we didn't want you here, we wouldn't have offered," Sunstreaker said bluntly from his spot across the room. Flareup looked at him. He was still staring out the window, into the distance. Sideswipe, who was sitting beside her on the couch, gently pulled her into his arms.

"Besides, you're safe with us, and with this war heating up, you need us around to keep you and 'Cee safe," Sideswipe added.

"'Cee! Me 'Cee!" Arcee chirped, looking over at the two adults on the couch.

"You! P'ay!" Red Alert squeaked, regaining Arcee's attention. Arcee twittered and turned back to the small building they were creating with Red's blocks.

"Besides, we won't be here for much longer," Sunstreaker added ominously. He looked over at Sideswipe, his optics dark. "Sideswipe, get my art subspace holder and start storing my paintings. Flareup, keep an optics on those two while I pack our stuff. Actually, would you mind packing Red's toys in with Arcee's?"

"Of course," Flareup said, though her faceplates only held confusion. She looked over at Sideswipe and saw that he was staring intensely at his brother, and Flareup knew immediately that they were communicating over their twin bond. She jumped when the red mech suddenly surged from the couch and hurried to the window.

"Slag," Sideswipe swore after looking out the window for a few kliks. "Flare, move swiftly," Sideswipe ordered as he left the room with his brother

"What's going on?" Flareup called as she opened Red's toy chest and Arcee's toy subspace. She started moving the toys from the chest to the subspace as quickly as possible.

"The battle's moving our way. We're leaving until we know it's safe," Sideswipe stated as he opened a thick, rectangular subspace case (8) and started placing the pretty paintings inside.

"What! There's a battle this close to Iacon?" Flareup questioned. She hadn't seen Elita or her sister since her visit to Ratchet two orns ago. She knew the war was heating up, but she didn't know that it was raging so close-by.

"Yeah, so keep moving," Sideswipe replied, slowly making his way around the room. Once he had taken down all the paintings in the living area, he moved into the berthrooms at the back.

"What's going to happen?" Flareup called out, worried for the housing units nearby.

"An evacuation should be called soon. Everybot's gonna be headed to Iacon for protection until the threat is neutralized. We need to get there before the crowd," Sunstreaker stated. Flareup frowned.

"Why?" she asked as she closed the toy chest and the subspace unit.

"Because the bigger the group, the easier the target," Sunstreaker explained darkly. Flareup's optics widened. She lifted the smaller subspace unit and walked to the children, setting the bag down beside them.

"Time to clean up, sparklets. Pack your block up," Flareup chirped, not wanting the younger two to worry.

"C'ean up, c'ean up. Time to c'ean up," Arcee sang as she dropped the blocks in the open subspace bag. "Red, c'ean up," the femlet ordered. Red Alert chirped at her as he followed her example.

"The young ones are ready!" Flareup called out.

"Good! Let's go," Sunstreaker ordered as he lifted Red Alert into his hands. He deposited the red and white sparkling into his hold before lifting up his subspace unit filled with the three brothers' belongings and the medium sized subspace unit filled with sparkling toys. Flareup placed the strap of the larger subspace unit over her shoulder before grabbing a blanket from the couch and wrapping Arcee up in it. Once she was done, she lifted Arcee into her arms. Due to her latest growth spurt, the femling was too big to fit in her hold. Sideswipe moved into the room with two art subspace holders, and with a nod from Sunstreaker, all three adults left the housing unit.

"Keep close, Flare," Sunstreaker ordered, taking up the front of their small group. Flareup was in the middle, and Sideswipe took up the rear.

"Sunstreaker, what if something happens?" Flareup asked as she ran.

"We'll slag anybot that attacks us," Sunstreaker replied without hesitation. Flareup nodded and prepared for the long run from Uraya's border to Iacon. She knew that the run was feasible when driving, but running was another story. However, she knew Sunstreaker and Sideswipe couldn't carry five subspace units and two younglings by themselves, and Flareup was a two-wheeler, meaning she couldn't carry anything in her alt. mode. So they would just have to run.

* * *

"How far out are we?"

"Slag if I know. I can see the tall buildings and the obnoxious lights."

"Sides… you're no help."

"Sorry, Flare."

"Both of you, shut it."

"Yes, Sunstreaker."

"Whatever, Sunny."

"Don't call me that."

Three Cybertronians trudged slowly across the flat metal plain, each tired and sore. The two sparklings were in recharge, lucky little slaggers. Flareup, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe, though, were regrettably still awake and walking, as they had been for a joor at least. A few breems after they had started, they noticed a large multi-colored blob following after them and knew that that blob was a large group of fellow survivors. Allowing themselves a small rest, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and Flareup decided to wait for the other to catch up, though Sunstreaker didn't hide his disapproval at all. While Flareup argued for safety in numbers, Sunstreaker argued that more bots meant a bigger target from the sky. It didn't matter, though, because the group caught up, and they all started moving together. Another breem later, a huge fire had started behind them, and they knew, without a doubt, that their small, impoverished city had been destroyed, and they could only hope the other bots got out in time. They had heard the loud evacuation alarm half-way through their journey, so they knew the other bots had had sufficient warning.

"Sides, do you think we'll be safe?" Flareup asked quietly. Sideswipe gave her a cheerful grin.

"Of course. You got us, right?" Flareup smiled.

"Yeah. Thanks for all this," she replied. Sideswipe winked at her before turning his focus back to walking. However, the three paused when they felt the ground shudder beneath their pedes. "Sides… what's that?" Sideswipe didn't answer her as he turned around and looked behind him.

"Seekers! Run!" Sideswipe yelled upon seeing the flying trines. This, of course, caused mass panic in the group following them, and Flareup and the twins had to sprint to keep from getting trampled.

"Why are they this far from the battle?" Flareup yelled as she sprinted after Sunstreaker.

"They were probably ordered to look for survivors and offline them!" Sunstreaker replied. Screams of fear and agony rose from the crowd behind them as the two Seeker trines dropped plasma missiles. Arcee woke with a start and looked around wildly.

"F'are?" she squeaked.

"I'm here," Flareup replied. Arcee squeaked as she tried to look over Flareup's shoulder, but the femme deftly pressed the sparkling's faceplates against her chest to prevent her from looking. "Don't look, my spark."

"What happ'n?"

"Nothing, 'Cee. Ignore it." More screams rose as another barrage of missiles was dropped, this time closer.

"Faster, Flare!" Sideswipe cried. He leapt into the air and allowed his tires to transform down, his movements in perfect sync with Sunstreaker in front of them. He skated forward, dipping down momentarily to scoop Flareup into his arms. The twins shot forward with a new burst of speed, trying to escape the trained aerial fighters. They couldn't outrun them, though. The next barrage hit just behind them, destroying the ground beneath their pedes and sending them flying forward. Flareup landed in a heap and immediately dropped offline into an emergency repair stasis. Sideswipe landed beside her, groaning heavily in pain. He grunted as he looked into her faceplates.

"Flare… Flare, wake up… Flare…" he whispered, feeling his own systems fighting to stay online.

**/Sideswipe… You got Flare and Arcee?/**

Sideswipe's engine roared when he looked down at Flareup's arms and didn't see Arcee there. He looked around at the debris, forcing himself to sit up.

**/No. Arcee's gone. How's Red?/**

**/Still recharging. Get up before the Seekers come back. Pick up Flare. We gotta find Arcee./**

**/Acknowledged./**

Sideswipe grunted as he pulled himself to his pedes. An internal systems check showed that his battle armor had protected him from the worst of the damage. His shoulder joint was slightly misaligned from landing on it, but otherwise, he was just sore. He looked over at Sunny, who was a few feet away from him. Energon was streaming from his left hip joint, but he ignored it. He moved gracefully, as if the wound wasn't there.

"Let's go. Arcee can't be too far away," Sunstreaker murmured, looking in the distance where the Seekers were attacking the larger group again. That meant they had more time to find Arcee. They moved quickly, Sunstreaker scouting while Sideswipe carried Flareup. The sound of approaching air and ground vehicles grabbed their attention. Sunstreaker stepped in front of Sideswipe, pulling his swords from subspace. The vehicles transformed and quickly moved to their side.

"Stand down! We're Protectobots!" the light blue grounder mech in front exclaimed. "Blades, keep the Seekers busy until the Wreckers get here!"

"Yeah!" the 'copter bot cheered. He turned and took to the sky without hesitation.

"First Aid, check the femme. Streetwise, Groove…" the light blue bot looked over at the last two members of his team, both were sub-adults, looking somewhere between frightened and excited. "Keep watch."

"Yes, sir!" the two mechs exclaimed. They snapped smart salutes before turning and glaring at the Seekers, as if they could _will_ them to death with their minds. Sideswipe growled at the red and white mech as he approached.

"My designation is First Aid. I just wanna check on her," the mech stated. Sideswipe glanced at the Autobot insignia, then allowed him to approach.

"Tell you leader to help us look for Arcee. She's a pink femme sparkling. We can't find her," Sunstreaker said, optics an icy blue.

"Hot Spot! These guys lost a femme sparkling in the blast!" First Aid exclaimed. Hot Spot cursed.

"Streetwise, Groove, started searching for a femme sparkling," Hot Spot ordered. The two mechs saluted and went to work, fanning out as they searched nearby. The sound of more ground alt modes drew attention. "Wreckers are here."

"And the 'Cons are retreating," Sunstreaker noted as he continued his search for Arcee.

"Nobot wants to fight a Wrecker. They'll end up doing search and rescue. Joy," Hot Spot noted dryly.

"Hot Spot, she broke a primary energon line and the fuel line that leads to her waste tank. She needs to be in surgery now!" First Aid exclaimed.

"Slag! Blades, report for emergency evac!" Hot Spot ordered. The 'copter turned and headed back their way, moving swiftly. "The femme," Hot Spot stated as the copter transformed to bipedal mode.

"Got'cha," Blades stated. He gently took Flareup from Sideswipe's arms. "She'll be in the medbay at the Iaconian Autobot Stronghold," Blades told the red twin. He leapt into the air and flew in the direction they had been headed in before they were attacked.

"Now, let's find that sparkling," Hot Spot stated.

* * *

"Primus, this place is a mess," Magnus stated, looking at the leftovers of the small skirmish. To his far right, he could see the Protectobots already at work. He grimaced. "Lookie who's here. It's the Goodie-Goodie-Group." Snickers rose around the group of seven. It was no secret that Wreckers hated the Protectobots, and vise versa (9). Quite frankly, the two groups simply couldn't understand each other.

"No playing around. If the 'Cons fled, then it means there may be survivors. Fan out and save anybot you can," Impactor ordered. Kup, the oldest, took Springer, a pre-adult youngling, with him in the opposite direction of the large group of refugees. Topspin and Twintwist, the brothers from Helix, turned away, moving towards the refugees, while Ultra Magnus, Impactor, and Roadbuster fanned out in all directions.

Meanwhile, a little pink femling slowly onlined her optics. She sniffed delicately before sneezing, violently clearing the dust from her vents. How strange. Where was she? She could see that she was still wrapped in the thick blanket from Red's housing unit. She slowly sat up, wiggling around as she attempted to get out of the cocoon.

"F'are?" she squeaked, then grimaced. Her helm hurt. In fact, her whole body felt sore, but her helm hurt the most. "F'are? Sighs? Sunny?" she called. She squeaked irritably, wanting out of the blanket. Why wasn't Flareup helping her? She twittered angrily before letting loose a furious string of rapid clicks, sending her irritation and indignity freely through the bond. Then she froze.

Flareup's side was gone. It was just…gone. Flareup _never_ closed the bond. Never ever. What was wrong? Was she recharging? Arcee squealed loudly, sending worry and fear through the empty bond.

"F'are!" she called out.

"Hey, did you hear that?" a mech's voice asked. Arcee clicked curiously at the voice.

"Hear what?" an older voice questioned irritably.

"Sighs? Sunny?" Arcee chirped. Perhaps her two friends were with these two mechs!

"That! It came from over… hmm…" Arcee clicked when the voice stopped right beside her, then she squealed when she was suddenly lifted up. The blanket was moved around until her helm popped through the top. Her shuttered her optics at the sudden assault of light and squeaked as she unshuttered them.

"Primus. It's a sparkling," the older voice said. Arcee clicked as she studied her surroundings. She was being held by a dark green youngling, and an older, light green mech was looking over the youngling's shoulder at her.

"It's a _femme_ sparkling," the youngling added. Arcee squeaked cheerfully as she looked around. If these two mechs found her, then Flareup and the twins must be close by.

"F'are?" she called out looking around. The two mechs frowned.

"You think her creators were in that group that the 'Con's attacked?" the younger mech asked. The older mech glanced back.

"I can't be sure. Sweetspark, what's your designation?"

"Me 'Cee!" the femling chirped. "Who you?" she added, cocking her helm cutely to the side as she stared at the light green mech. The mech chuckled.

"My designation is Kup, and this here is Springer," the light green mech introduced.

"Ohhh," Arcee said seriously. "Where F'are?"

"We don't know yet, femlet, but we'll find out. Do you have any injuries?" Kup questioned. Arcee shuttered her optics. She didn't know that last word. "Do you hurt anywhere?"

"Ohhh. Helm," she replied matter-a-factly.

"I see. Springer, we need to get her to Perceptor. He can check up on her," Kup stated.

"Should we tell the Protectobites?" Springer asked, looking up at Kup as he handed the sparkling over. Kup sent the Protectobots an irritable look. They were obviously looking for something. Probably more survivors. They had probably roped those two mechs into helping them, seeing as the two youngest members of their gesalt were completely useless. At least one thing could be said about the Wreckers: Their young were just as formidable as the adults.

"Naw. Let's jus' take 'er to the stronghold. I'll contact Hot Spot once she's all settled down," Kup replied. Springer nodded as he transformed down into the form of a helicopter. The green mechling was a triple-changer, something he was very proud of, and he had no problems with showing his abilities while taking the sparkling to the Wrecker base. "Now, make the flight gentle, mechling," Kup ordered as he gently set the pink femlet into the mechling's interior. Springer beeped in acknowledgement as he shut the sliding door. Arcee twittered excitedly as the mech rose from the ground, rotary blades beating strongly.

"Guess it's just you and me, femme," Springer stated as he moved forward. Arcee chirped at him.

"Where F'are? F'are comin'?" Arcee questioned.

"I dunno who 'Fair' is, femme."

"Oh. F'are sister. F'are love 'Cee," Arcee informed him.

"Cool," he replied, though his tone didn't quite agree with his words. Arcee clicked quietly. She didn't really like this new mech. Red was a lot more enthusiastic when she spoke to him. She squeaked irritably. Well, then she'd just have to _make_ this mech like her.

* * *

"So you and Kup discovered her in the ruins of the Seeker's attack?"

"Yup? She wouldn't shut up the whole way here. I think she's glitched."

"Springer, just because she's vocal doesn't mean she has a glitch."

"I still think she has a glitch."

"I think she's cute!"

"You're still a sparkling, Hotrod! You think _everything's _cute."

"That's not true, Springer!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is—"

"Okay, you two miscreants. Your presence is no longer required. Shoo."

"Geez, Percy. Don't have to be so rude about it."

"Move it, Springer."

"Whatever."

Springer followed Hotrod sullenly, glancing back at the femme only once. Arcee was looking around the room with great reluctance. She obviously recognized the medbay for what it was. She connected optics with Springer and squeaked once at him.

"Later, femme," he called out, and he left. Arcee clicked as she looked up at Perceptor, a red mech with a strange… thing on his shoulder.

"Hi," she squeaked.

"Salutations." Arcee stared up at him, wondering what he had just said. "Well, femling, I suppose it would be prudent to run a few scans and discover your designation and where you belong." Arcee continued to stare, wondering what gibberish this mech was spouting. Deciding to try and see if he could communicate in Cybertronian, Arcee repeated her greeting.

"Hi!" she chirped. The mech stared, dumbfounded.

"Hi," he replied flatly.

"Who you?"

"My designation is Perceptor."

"Ooooohh… Me 'Cee!"

"'Cee?' Not much of a name," he murmured.

"My name! Me 'Cee!" Arcee argued.

"As I see. Well, 'Cee. Let's check your systems. I'm going to send your systems into recharge. You need the rest."

* * *

"Move! Outta my way!"

"Chromia, wait up!"

"Move it or lose, Elita!"

"Flareup's not going anywhere, Chromia!"

"No, but I'm gonna be there when she wakes up. I should have made her move here."

Chromia slowed as she approached the medbay entrance, Elita and Ironhide slowing as she did. The waiting room, as she expected, was pretty empty. A few bots were sitting around, but so far, only three bots had shown up in the Autobot medbay. One of those bots was Flareup, and Chromia hated herself for that. She had been chatting with Elita and Ironhide in the rec room during the attack. The Wreckers had been deployed because their base was closer, and Chromia knew that her assistance wouldn't be needed, so she had simply stayed were she was.

Then she had received the comm. Moonracer, who was working in the medbay with her mate, Ratchet, had sent Chromia an urgent comm. telling her that Flareup was in the medbay. Chromia had immediately dashed from the room, Ironhide and Elita hurrying after her. She wasn't sure what she was expecting when she stepped into the medbay, but a wrench flying her way wasn't it. Acting fast, Chromia ducked and winced when she heard a _clank_ from behind her, followed closely by Ironhide's colorful curses.

"Slaggin' fraggin' Pit-spawn medic!" Ironhide yelled, glaring at Ratchet, who was returning the glare with equal force.

"Out!" was Ratchet's one demand.

"Not until I see my sister," Chromia stated. Ratchet frowned at her and glanced over at the far berth where Flareup was laying, offline.

"Make it quick," Ratchet snapped. Chromia scurried over to her sister's berth, the other two Autobots flanking her.

"Flare?" Chromia murmured, running a hand down her sister's helm. She jolted when Flareup's optics came online. She stared at her sister blankly.

"I know you…" Flareup murmured, sounding confused. "How… how do I know you?"

"Slag," Ratchet muttered, moving to stand at the head of Flareup's berth. "What's the last memory you have saved?"

"We were attacked… Sunny and Sides were taking me away from the fight, and these flyers attacked and…" Flareup trailed off as she looked down at her arms, memories and pictures flashing behind her optics as her memory core suddenly booted up. "Arcee! Where's Arcee!" Flareup screeched, grabbing Chromia's arms while she looked around the medbay wildly.

"Flare, you were the only femme they brought in," Moonracer said gently. Flareup looked at her, and Chromia gasped at how bereft her sister looked, how dead and utterly defeated. She sat there in horrified silence, staring at Moonracer as her words repeated through her helm. Coolant rose to her optics, and her vents hitched.

"No…" she whispered, her vents working to cool her overheating frame. "No. Not Arcee. No!" She gave a keen of agony when she felt that her bond with Arcee was blank. Empty. Dead. The three femmes in the room immediately moved forward to comfort the broken femme. Ironhide and Ratchet stood back, feeling pity for the devastated femme while they received feelings through their bonds with their mates.

"Elita-One…" Flareup started. Elita pulled back from the four-femme hug to look at Flareup, who was staring at her with determination.

"Yes, Flareup?"

"I wish to join the Autobot cause. I will to train and fight beside your femme troupe," Flareup stated. Elita-One stared at the femme for a few kliks before nodding.

"Very well. I will make the arrangements. For now… rest, recuperate, and grieve. All of us are here for you."

"Thank you… Commander." Elita's lips twitched upwards.

"No problem… cadet."

* * *

"So… What are we gonna do with her?" Kup asked as he stared down at the recharging femme.

"I'll take her," Ultra Magnus stated. "Until she's found her creators." All attention turned to the tall blue and white mech, who adopted a soft look as he gazed down at the sparkling. "Starsprite and I have been trying for a sparkling, and Star wanted a femme, so we'd be glad to take her in."

"Then it's settled," Impactor announced. "Ultra Magnus will take care of 'Cee."

"Have we even found out about her family or origins yet?" Kup questioned. Perceptor made a worried noise.

"No. I can't locate anything in the Autobot database that leads back to a femling designated 'Cee.' I surmise that this means that this sparling goes by a different name," the microscope stated.

"So all we have is the lassie's pet name… So wha' do we do?" Leadfoot asked as he shifted, trying not to step on the twin terrors racing around his pedes. Twintwist and Topspin were just out of their sparkling frames and causing the whole Wrecker base trouble. Other than Hotrod and Springer, though, they were the only younglings there.

"We raise her as our own. I'll take her to my quarters to get her settled in. Wreck and rule," Ultra Magnus said in farewell as he gathered the sparkling into his arms. 'Cee squeaked quietly before cuddling into the warmth offered by Magnus's powerful spark. The young mech grinned down at the sleeping femme. "Oh, Star's gonna _love_ you," he stated, and he left the room, ready to start his life with his new sparkling femme.

* * *

(1) Elita snorted because she found it funny that Flareup would greet an amateur historian and scientist with grace, yet she refused to treat the femme commander with the same manners.

(2) Bots work for seven solar cycles, then on the eighth and ninth solar cycle, they stay with their family units and generally enjoy life. During the energon crisis, though, lower-class bots started working on off-cycles to ensure that their family units were fed. This is not canon. It is of my own creation.

(3) A community housing unit is equivalent to an apartment, and a housing community is equivalent to an apartment complex.

(4) Ratchet is OOC because he hasn't been dealing with the "idiots" that make up the Autobot ranks yet. Remember, this is his first time meeting Sunny and Sides.

(5) Think of a large metal box with a strap for easy carrying. It opened from the top, much like a fashion bag does.

(6) Think of a medium sized metal suitcase.

(7) Cybertronian child's tea set.

(8) Think of the bags that painters carry their stuff in. This kind of subspace keeps the art works from smudging or ripping during a transfer.

(9) The Wrecker/Protectobot hatred thing is not canon, and it was solely of my creation. It only seems logical that the Protectobots, whose sole purpose in life is to protect and repair, would dislike the Wreckers, whose sole purpose is to destroy. Ya know?

* * *

So there it is. :) Here's your mini-epilogue:

Arcee, once she was in her second frame, was able to clarify that her designation was Arcee. She then went on a search for her sister, Flareup. Flareup, who had painted herself purple since it was the combined colors of her two sisters, had spent almost thirteen vorns in training and no longer held a close friendship with Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, who both were transferred to Optimus Prime's unit while the femme unit moved underground. Arcee was able to find her sister and rekindled their relationship, but she returned to the Wreckers soonafter, unable to leave her new family for long. Arcee was, indeed, able to make Springer like her. In fact, the poor slagger fell in love with her. Flareup wasn't jealous at all, but she was sad when Ratchet, the widowed Autobot CMO that she had a crush on, left for Earth.


End file.
